Tuesday 19 April 2011

Nose in Liber

I took a peek at Mac's photos of Palm Sunday and there I am sqinting at the Liber. I'm reasonably accurate singing, provided we have a do clef and it's the top line. After that, I start having to think about where the semitones are and this from someone who is not exactly unfamiliar with the notion of transposing at sight since what I really am is an orchestral horn player.

Anyway, I've never been great at walking and singing and since at the moment I have to concentrate totally on whether that's a dot, an episema or a quilisma there, my peripheral vision it pretty nonexistant; there just is not a brain cell left for noticing the fact that it was sunny, or that there might be some trip hazards underfoot. Suffice to say we got round the car park without incident; physical or musical.

UPDATE on what we were singing.

We sang a polyphonic setting of 'hosanna filio David' by RR Terry, then yes just the antiphons pueri Hebraeorum portnates and Pueri Hebraeorum vestima from the Liber during the distribution of the palms and yes it would, I think, have been preferrable to sing Psalm 23 and Psalm 46 - next year...

During the procession we sang Cum audisset populus and Turba multa, the car park at Blackfen not being so very large...

On that note, I must put my washing out.

3 comments:

Patrick Sheridan said...

Did you sing psalmody or just the antiphons?

Patricius said...

I fondly recall the Terry Hosanna Filio David from my youth. It was on the first page of the special Holy Week book (deriving from the 1955 reform of the Holy Week Liturgy)we used and which contained some real gems. These included a cracking "Pueri Hebraeorum" attributed,albeit with some doubt, to Palestrina and a setting of the Improperia for Good Friday by Terry which was simple but powerfully moving.

leutgeb said...

We have the special Holy Week books and will be singing the Pange lingua with the alternating polyphonic verses by Palestrina from them tomorrow night.

By the charism of Brenda we have everything that was ever bought for the parish from 1945-present.

It's just so great to wonder if you have the music for something and then to discover that others have trod this path and yes the music is all there waiting to be sung.

All hail Brenda!

I shall check out the other pieces that you mention. There's always next year.